Fall of 2018 marked the beginning of huge advancements in Venture Capital funding for the emerging “FemTech” sector. In my November article, I covered the funding expected to enter this sector within the next 6 years. This week, FemTech came $42 M closer to its $50 B goal. Elvie, a London-based women’s healthcare start-up secured $42 M in its third private financing round.
ELECTRIC VEHICLE MARKETS: EASY TO INVEST IN?
Traditional automotive manufacturers are being forced to innovate and compete against new entrants. Many startups secured seed and early round funding from Venture Capital firms between 2007-2011 before the influx of Private Equity investors. However, several of the company’s successful in raising capital, such as Lucid Motors and Coda Automotive, eventually found themselves facing financial struggles, and, in some cases, bankruptcy. Although the electric automotive market is experiencing rapid growth with sales expected to exceed 4.5 million units per year by 2020, the potential varies drastically across regions.
MUSIC SERVICES STARTUP EXPECTED TO RECEIVE A LARGE CHECK
Kobalt is a music technology and services company that grants artists royalties and serves a platform for music production. This startup is viewed extremely positively in the eyes of investors due to its software management system for digital content, which enables artists who purchase Kobalt’s services to effectively view user data and song performance across music streaming apps. The company champions the right of the artist--a right that is often forgotten in pursuit of additional income by other businesses in the music industry.
VIEW INC RECEIVES $1.1B FROM SOFTBANK VISION FUND
THE UPSURGE OF VC MEGA FUNDS
PETAL: NO TRAINING WHEELS REQUIRED
Petal, a ‘beginners’ credit card company’ secured another round of funding of $34 million in October from Jefferies and Silicon Valley Bank. This comes several months after raising $13 million from Valar Ventures. Located in New York, one of the main hubs of financial technology (also known as, “Fintech”), Petal is a more developed startup poised to disrupt the credit card industry.
The Implications of Saudi Money in Silicon Valley
Headed by CEO Masayoshi Son, the SoftBank Vision Fund continues to soar, as they recently capped a $93 billion-dollar fund. 45% of this fund is backed by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF), thus making them the largest investor. For the sake of comparison, Sequoia Capital, one of the largest and most reputable American venture firms, is set to raise an $8 billion-dollar fund, which is considered monstrous for venture capital firms in the US.
How VC Plays it Safe in Germany
With strict data regulation laws like the GDPR introduced in the EU and the outdated GiroCard debit system that prevents card-not-present online payments, it doesn’t come as a surprise that Germany lacks startups and lags behind in the development offuture technologies like fintech, artificial intelligence or blockchain.
FEMTECH EXPECTED TO REACH $50B BY 2025
In the next decade, technology geared towards women’s health will receive more funding than it ever has. “Femtech,” a term coined by female entrepreneur Ida Tin, describes technological software, diagnostics and products focused on improving and monitoring women’s health. In 2016, Ida Tin created Clue, a menstrual tracking application now used by millions of women. Most mainstream healthcare options are geared towards men, not women. However, femtech firms combine technological innovation and women’s health issues to design products that target aging & menopause, fertility management, period cares and more. More generally, these firms address taboo topics specific to women’s health. According to Forbes, only 10% of global investment is allocated to female-led startups, and even less directly funnels into women’s healthcare start-ups. Further, women’s health is traditionally only thought of in conjunction with pregnancy, birth and babies. However, the healthcare industry is finally beginning to change with growing attention focused on the femtech sector.
SALAD CHAIN SWEETGREEN SHOWS UNICORN POTENTIAL FOR IMPACT INVESTMENTS
The value of social impact is often perceived as an expense more than an asset among investors. However, sweetgreen has proven that a social mission can drive growth and serve as a differentiating factor in the competitive food industry. Their success counters beliefs about the scalability of social impact, showing how one impact-driven restaurant can develop into a chain that maintains its values even when it spans the country.The value of social impact is often perceived as an expense more than an asset among investors. However, sweetgreen has proven that a social mission can drive growth and serve as a differentiating factor in the competitive food industry. Their success counters beliefs about the scalability of social impact, showing how one impact-driven restaurant can develop into a chain that maintains its values even when it spans the country.